Out in the orbit of Orbitz
Unmentioned in our story on the Detroit Auto Show was getting to Detroit and back. Going was uneventful; returning was not.
On returning from Detroit, I called Avistar at LaGuardia after picking up my bags; I was told to walk outside. I did, and waited a while, then called again to make sure they knew where I was – I was asked which flight I had taken, and I said Northwest but that I was at the Delta terminal. While I was on the phone, the shuttle flew by, without slowing or stopping. I was told another was following, and would be by in a couple of minutes.
Ten minutes later, I called again, and was told to wait another couple of minutes. I asked if I should just get a cab and go to the parking lot, and the woman said no and hung up.
The next time I called, she just hung up as soon as I said who I was.
I had to wait for nearly an hour outside in the freezing wind with two heavy bags, waiting for a shuttle. I finally took a cab, at $5 plus a $5 tip (to help compensate for losing his spot in line), and found that the shuttle was sitting right in the parking lot, and four people were waiting in the warm booth.
Had they been honest in the first place I could have been home at a reasonable time. The plane was only delayed a few minutes, but their complete incompetence and lack of caring left me outside in a cold wind, with two heavy bags, walking back and forth until I was sensible enough to ignore their promises and take a taxi.
Hanging up on me was also anger-provoking but at least it finally got me into a taxi.
The irony here is that I used Avistar - which owns other airport parking services, by the way - largely to avoid standing outside in the cold for an hour, which is what invariably happens when I hire a car service. (New York area airports were all set up without any thought of linking to mass transit systems - especially ironic in Newark, by the way, since the airport is so close to the PATH rail system and the Northeast Corridor line used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit; the Port Authority operates both PATH and Newark Airport but didn’t think to hook the two up!). With car services, I’ve found the routine to be calling from the airport, being told to wait outside for two minutes, and then getting picked up an hour later. The theft rate from the airports was a disincentive for driving and parking myself, then walking; that and the knowledge that I’d be festooned with heavy auto-show-covering gear.
Thanks to Avistar, Orbitz’s chosen provider of parking services, I ended up with heavy equipment slung over my back in the freezing wind for an hour anyway.
I did try complaining to Avistar; they said I hadn’t been there. Then I tried writing to their head office, but got no response. Then I tried Orbitz, which gives an e-mail address to send complaints to; they responded after a day telling me to call. I called and got passed off four times (each time they had to verify my record number, name, and address, of course), to someone who called Avistar, couldn’t get through, and told me to call back. When I did…you might have guessed…they wouldn’t put me through to the right department without demanding my record number. By then, of course, they couldn’t find me. Suddenly my record number was invalid. Yes, the same one I had used the day before. Oh, and my name and phone number apparently were gone, too.
Orbitz is supposed to send out a satisfaction survey to all customers within two weeks of their trip. I’m still waiting for mine, without optimism.
Well, a long time ago, a company named TARP did some research and found people who were angry at bad service told ten friends about it. I hope I’ve reached at least ten people today. As for the money I laid out, I have left it in VISA’s hands. We’ll see if I end up paying for services not rendered.
I went to a friend’s weeding in Abbotsford (BC) several years ago. I phoned the shuttle company and told
the staff that I would be arriving at the Vancouver airport at 10 a.m. They told me that the shuttle
wouldn’t be leaving until 1:00 p.m. So, I fiqured no problem, I’d phone other friends and they could come
& visit with me at the airport for 3 hours. None were at home, so I resigned myself to spending 3 hours in
a strange airport. I went downstairs to the shuttle desk and was advised “yes, the shuttle didn’t leave for
Abbotsford until 1 p.m.”
For some reason, I took a stroll outside to the shuttle departure gate and lo and behold there sat the
shuttle to Abbortsford. The driver said good thing I got there at that time the bus was leaving in 15
minutes, giving me time to rush back into the airport and retrieve my bags from the storage locker.
I was the only passenger from Vancouver to Abbotsford (it makes the run whether or not there are passengers)
The driver said that the staff answering the phone was new (but not those at the airport). And even though I advised them that I was taking the shuttle from Vancouver to Abbotsford, each one gave me the departure time from Abbotsford to
Vancouver.
I also tried writing to their head office, but got no response. All other tries to complain were rebuffed,
until I sent them a bill for $300 + expenses (for the storage locker). Their excuse was that according to
thier staff, I told each one that I needed the shuttle from A to V, even though I was actually standing in
front of them at the airport.
“New York area airports were all set up without any thought of linking to mass transit systems…”
On the contrary, there have been such thoughts. Which Subway line would you prefer to take with your equipment?
Yeah Right, who would take the Subway with heavy video equipment worth more than the average mopar’s we drive LOL
You can, or could, take the A Train to the Howard Beach stop to take a special bus to the JFK Airport terminals. One night I got a young German backpacker off of that train and drove him into the airport. He was two stops away from becoming the prey of three predators poised to pounce.
Didn’t mean to bust Dave’s chops but mass transit can be more penalty than panacea.
Always park on-site at LGA. You can walk right out of the terminal and across the street to your car. The cost is only slightly more than off-site. BTW - you can directly access NJT and Amtrak from EWR. Simply take the monorail from the terminal to the train station. Continental will even give you frequent flyer miles on Amtrak.
FWIW - You might want to take a shot at ePinions and write a few choice words about the Avis”Tarbaby” and Orbitz whose porcine-eyed TV pitchman, frankly, irritates the daylights out of me.
May not to a darn thing, but many people might just see the lousy treatment you got at the hands of those two outfits. Note; I have to agree with some of the comments above. You do NOT want to have valuable camera equipment with you on the NY or PATH subways during off-hours.
You are lucky.
I parked with Avistar Parking and the desk agent took my money and then refused to tell me where my car was until I called the cops! They actaully lost my keys and couldn’t find the car or the keys. I stood outside for three hours till a manager arrived to talk to the cops and and then I had to pay for my own car service home and come back to get my car with the spare keys. Since this happened, when I call Avistar to ask if they have found the keys, the manager is always “in later” or “just went out.” Almost a week later, Avistar parking has not found my keys or even tried to fix their horrible error. The corporate office hasn’t returned my calls either.
The worst is that my wife wanted a high level security system, and now some parking valet has lost my keys. To replace it is hundreds of dollars all because of Avistar Parking .
Thanks for your comments everyone!
I don’t consider the A-train to JFK to be a serious mass transit solution for obvious reasons, including what you just said. As for taking the subway, I have taken the subway loaded with camera gear many times. It’s much safer than people think. I used to work on a laptop (when I could get a seat!) routinely without any problem. I have friends who use Blackberrys frequently on the subway.
A follow up: Weeks later, Avistar Parking “found” my keys. I’m still out of pocket for almost $50 (on top of paying for the parking before Avistar told me they couldn’t return my car to me) and now they tell me that Avistar Parking won’t process my claim till I have a claim number. The catch is that Avistar Parking needs to give me my unique number, and a month later Avistar Parking still hasn’t done that. The guy in the Avistar Parking claims department (Freddie) says giving out the numbers isn’t his job! Say what? They refuse to give me a claim number and tell me I can’t be paid for my expenses without it.
As far as I am concerned, anyone who uses Avistar Parking does so at their own risk. You have been warned! Good luck to the brave.